One Day In Your Life
by mareine
Summary: A chance encounter in the street has Edward remembering a past life that had been stripped from him, and gives him the chance to discover the life that could have been. HP/EC. EC/BS. SLASH and INFIDELITY.
1. Chapter 1

_**WARNINGS: adultery/infidelity, bisexuality, blood, homo relationships, straight relationships, etc.**_

_A/N: For easiness's sake, the timelines have been modified. Edward's not nearly as old as he is in canon, and Harry is older than his canon. Assuming Twilight takes place circa 2000, Harry was born in 1970 and Edward around 1950. Set between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn: Edward and Bella are engaged but the wedding has not yet taken place._

_A/N 2: this fic is dedicated to the producers of the Twilight film and SMeyer. Thanks to you I cannot listen to _Supermassive Black Hole_ without thinking of these jokes-of-vampires and baseball. Thanks a lot, assholes. This fic is also dedicated to the sites _twilight-quotes _and _ _, which allowed me to get a feel for the canon characters without having to want to do myself (or somebody else?) bodily harm. Thanks a lot (- not sarcastic). __**So if you see sentences in bold, you'll know that Stephenie Meyer wrote them and not me. **__I guess this is the part where I say I don't own Twilight or Harry Potter, but I think you already knew that._

_A/N 3: I probably shouldn't be posting new fics given the two ones I have unfinished, but this one has already been completed, promise! Unfortunately, the ideas concerning my WIPs are pretty scarce. Please bear with me. _

* * *

"_Welcome to my flat, love," the man said, opening the door and grinning widely. Edward stepped inside. It was a far cry from the luxurious houses that he lived in with his family, but this had a more homely feel to it. The walls were an uninteresting cream color. There was no television, but the sofa and armchairs were grouped around a coffee table in front of the fireplace. There were photos on the mantelpiece, some of them moved! Edward moved to look at them in fascination. The people in them waved at him. A grin made its way onto his face and he couldn't help but to wave back._

_The man stepped forward. "That's my mum and dad," he said, pointing to one photo._

"_You look a lot like your dad," Edward remarked. "But with your mom's eyes."_

_The wizard laughed. "Yeah, I get that all the time. And there's me with Ron and Hermione," he said, pointing at another photo, where a trio of young tweens waved at them enthusiastically, "you'll be meeting them this weekend, along with the rest of Ron's family," and Edward was directed to look at another photo full of redheads. "Don't worry, they're all really nice. You might have to watch out for George, though, he's a prankster."_

"_I'm sure I'll be able to see it coming," Edward said._

"_Oh right. Legilimency and all that…"_

"_Unless he can block me, like you can."_

"_I wouldn't think so. Legilimency isn't a common skill, so most people don't bother learning Occlumency."_

_Edward's brow knitted. "Why do you know Occlumency, then?"_

_The man's face darkened for a second before his expression shuttered. "I told you I was part of a war, right? I was one of the main figureheads actually, and I was nearly always being targeted. The leader of the other side was notorious for his mastery of Legilimency, so I had to learn."_

"_Is learning difficult?"_

_Another dark look passed on his face and Edward wished he hadn't asked. "It's…a bit complicated. It took me a while, because, at the time, I really hated my teacher and he hated me too. Eventually I did my best learning from a book with Hermione's help, and Sn—my teacher tested me. But it's too not difficult."_

"_I wonder if learning it will help me control my power?"_

_He received an interested look. "Possibly. I'll show you my book tomorrow, yeah? And I'll bet Hermione will be happy to talk to you about it."_

* * *

_The weekend passed smoothly. The meeting with the Weasleys had gone well; indeed, they were all friendly. The females were appropriately dazzled by him to the displeasure of their husbands, though Ginerva, the youngest Weasley, was a little less so. In her mind, he could tell that she was jealous of their closeness, jealous of their relationship, when she had yearned for him for years, and only had him for a moment. He subtly avoided her, but did not point out her thoughts to his love._

_As his love had predicted, Hermione, the knowledgeable witch that she was, was only too happy to explain the theory of Occlumency to him, though she seemed horrified at his power of mind-reading, well, Legilimency, they called it. Her thoughts immediately became frenzied, wondering if he could see the intimate thoughts she had of her husband. He grimaced and reassured her that he did his best to respect people's privacy, unless he felt there was a threat of danger involved, which only made her more flustered, given that he'd pulled the idea from her head._

_Dinner was a bit complex; he wasn't sure if he should mention that he didn't eat, but it would have been rude to just have sat there whilst others were eating. He took a very small amount of food, bits of dishes that looked like they'd been slaved over for hours, and swallowed it all down with only the faintest of grimaces. He was feeling rather proud of himself, until the Weasley matriarch insisted he have seconds._

* * *

_There was nothing quite like the feeling of his lover's hot lips against his own. Edward parted his lips and his cold tongue twined against his love's, the slick organ pleasantly scalding his mouth. Their hands were all over each other, his love particularly loving to run his hands through Edward's bronze hair, and Edward loving to grope at his love's delightful ass. His mate attempted to do the same, but his vampire skin and muscles were too hard to get much of a squeeze out of._

"_I want you, baby," his love murmured breathily, green eyes dark yet alight with lust and love._

"_You'll have to come and get me," Edward teased, and with his vampire speed, had left his love behind, tongue half out of his mouth and trousers uncomfortable. Edward laughed as his mate cursed and stomped into the bedroom. He paused abruptly at the sight of the vampire lounging on the bed, already naked._

_He sighed. "Bloody vampire speed…" he muttered, unbuttoning his shirt._

"_Let me do that," Edward offered, beckoning his love forward. The man automatically advanced a few steps, then seemed to snap out of the vampire allure._

"_Naughty, naughty," he purred. "Haven't I told you not to do that? No, _I_'ll tell you to come here, and undress me."_

_Edward rolled his eyes, but left the bed and went to his love. "I don't do it on purpose. It's part of my…unnatural charm," he said, and flashed him a dazzling smile. His love briefly became entranced, before shaking it off again, sporting an annoyed look._

"_Naughty, naughty again. Now you're going to get on your knees and use your mouth."_

_Edward chuckled and kneeled obediently. He opened his mouth, allowing his love to cast the necessary spells to protect himself from the vampire's overly sharp teeth. Edward smiled, and undid his love's trousers. Still very mindful of his teeth, he went to work. At first, the man flinched at the difference in temperature, as he always did, but soon enough, Edward was making his lover groan and grip his hair._

"_Down your throat, baby," his love rasped after several moments, breathing heavy, eyes looking down on him with so much love. Edward smiled despite his already stretched lips and eased his love down his throat. He had never been more pleased at the fact that his body did not need air. He didn't mind the fact that his love could move and buck all he liked without injuring him either._

_The wizard exhaled harshly before pulling away. "You're going to scream tonight, baby," he promised, eyes glowing wickedly with love and promise. Edward could only grin in response._

* * *

"Petrificus Totalus!_" Ginny's voice came out of nowhere._

_His body suddenly became stiff as a board, his arms snapping straight and gluing themselves to his sides, his legs snapping together. He cursed himself and stopped Occluding his mind, hoping that her thoughts would provide some insight on what she was planning on doing with him._

_Her thoughts told of her killing him, her disposing of his body in a river, her wondering how long her spell would hold him, her obsessing over his love, -_

_He cursed himself again and attempted to calm himself. He needed to find a way to free himself from her magic._

"_Sorry, Edward," she was saying, not at all apologetically. "I guess you can already tell what I'm going to do to you, huh?"_

_He tried to respond. He couldn't. For all his strength, his jaw refused to budge._

_Her thoughts were changing now. She hesitated in killing him, going over the repercussions: Azkaban, her family disowning her, his love hating her, …_

_She raised her wand. "_Obliviate!_" she said firmly. The jet of light hit him, and for the first time in a long time, he fell into darkness._

* * *

Something had broken inside of his mind at the sight of the man standing across the street. The man was obviously not local; the overcast sky wasn't enough to diminish the glow of his golden skin. His black hair was tousled in an effortless way and green eyes shone. He was dressed casually, hands in his pockets, staring directly at him. Edward found himself, staring back, entranced. He saw scenes – memories – of himself with this man, who had been younger then, talking, laughing, touching...

"Edward?"

He looked down immediately. Bella had settled into the passenger seat of his Volvo, staring up at him curiously, as he hadn't closed the open door yet.

"Wait here, Bella," he said, closing the door and crossing the street, barely remembering to look for cars.

"Hi," the stranger said as soon as he was close enough. His voice was accented and low, not quite husky, and Edward felt as if he could listen to it for hours.

"Hello," he replied, staring into those emerald eyes, so similar to the ones he used to have himself. He suddenly realized that he couldn't hear the man's thoughts. It was at once troubling, as it had been the first time he'd encountered Bella, and soothingly familiar.

The stranger gave a wan smile. "Is that your girlfriend?" he asked, nodding towards the car, where Bella was peering out the window, looking half curious, half worried.

"Yes."

The man smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm happy for you."

"I know you. We know each other," Edward said, trying not to show his confusion. "What's your name?"

"My name?" the stranger repeated, bewildered. "We were together for five years, how could you not know my name?"

"Five years?" Edward repeated. The man frowned at him. "I know…I mean…I don't know." He shook his head as if it'd help him organize his thoughts. He took a deep breath, his heavenly scent flooding his nose. It didn't inspire bloodlust in him, like Bella did, but it felt…familiar, as if he had reveled in it for hours at a time, like a heady drug. "I remember your face, I remember your touch, I remember the way you used to look at me, but I don't remember your name. Who are you?"

The man stared at him. There was something not quite unlike incredulity or horror in his eyes. He seemed to wrestle internally with himself, before saying, "My name is Harry. Harry Potter."

Edward felt as if a bomb had possibly gone off inside of him. He _remembered_, with startling clarity, his life with Harry. He remembered meeting him as a young adult, he remembered flying on a broomstick, he remembered a bunch of redheads and a bushy-haired woman, he remembered Harry's flat in London, he remembered the bed where they had made love…

He was startled out of his memories by the weight of a warm hand on his shoulder. Harry was looking at him concernedly.

"Are you alright?" he asked, eyes worried.

"I…we used to…" Edward fought for words.

"Your girlfriend's waiting," Harry said instead, and Edward automatically turned to look. Bella wass chewing her bottom lip anxiously, her eyes not leaving them.

He looked back at Harry. "I have to drop her off at her dad's. But I'll be back. Will you wait for me?" he asked, his voice becoming desperate.

A flash of pain went through Harry's face, but he nodded tightly. "Sure."

"Fifteen minutes," Edward said, eyes not leaving Harry's face even as he crossed the street. He opened the car door and was hit with Bella's mouthwatering smell. He took a moment to calm himself before he got in the car and started it up.

"Who's that?" Bella asked, glancing at the man who hadn't moved from his spot on the sidewalk.

"An old friend," he said, and drove off.

He paid even less attention to the speed limit than usual. Bella always noticed everything he did, and thus remarked, "What's wrong? Slow down."

The instinctive desire to make her happy had him easing his foot off the gas, though he still was well over the speed limit. In barely any time, he was pulling up in front of the Swan residence. He got out and was on the other side of the car in a flash, opening Bella's door for her.

"You wanna come up?" Bella asked, eyes warm and hopeful.

"No, I'm going to catch up with my…friend." The faintest of tingles went through his body at the thought of Harry.

"Oh. OK," she replied, failing to mask her disappointment.

"I'll probably be back tonight," he offered.

"Probably?" she asked. He understood her confusion; he always came into her room to watch her sleep.

"Yeah," he said. She didn't ask for an excuse so he didn't give one. He gave her a crooked smile, and her confusion melted away to be replaced with blank blissfulness. He got into his car and waited for her to enter the house safely, though she couldn't help glancing back every few seconds, before he drove away.

He looked at the time and harrumphed. Twelve minutes had already passed. He floored the gas pedal, pushing the car to its limits, with complete disregard for the speed limit and the safety of others. He circled around for a parking space and made his way over to Harry, who was standing in front of a bakery, looking into the window.

"Hey," he said immediately, joining him at the window, smiling crookedly.

"Hello yourself," Harry replied, face split in a grin.

Edward wanted to speak, wanted to ask him questions, but found himself silent instead, observing the man in wonder.

"How have you been?" Harry asked softly, some of his grin receding and his eyes filling with something akin to contentment.

Edward shrugged. "I've been OK. How about you?"

Harry shrugged too. "I've been living."

They stared at each other.

"Take a picture. It lasts longer," the Brit said dryly, prompting Edward to hastily look away. "Is there something specific you need from me?"

"I need to know what's between us. What relationship…did we have?"

Harry cocked his head to the side. "Right now? There's nothing between us. There hasn't been, for ages."

_Nothing between us_. The words echoed sinisterly in his head. "I think I still have feelings for you," the vampire murmured, so quietly that the other man shouldn't have been able to hear.

But instead, Harry's jaw clenched. "And I think it's a little late for that. You've clearly moved on."

"But you haven't?" he countered.

"That doesn't matter if you already have."

Edward regarded him. Confusion and frustration welled up in him. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't come here specifically looking for you if that's what you're asking. I'd given up on that ages ago. I call it lucky coincidence that we spotted each other."

Edward wasn't so certain of the veracity of his response. He wasn't sure if it was his gut feeling or his emotions. "You didn't answer my question."

Harry rolled his eyes and answered curtly, "Business."

"There aren't any corporate-owned businesses in Forks."

"In Seattle there are," Harry snapped, clearly giving in to his frustration. "And not that it's any of your business, but I came here because I wanted to see the Indian reservation."

Unbidden hostility instinctively went through him. "Why?"

"Their legends liken their ancestors to Animagi. But it was a waste of trip. Obviously, if the ability's been passed down, they aren't going to show every tourist that passes," he grumbled, and turned back to the pastries in the window.

Animagi. And Edward suddenly thought of Harry laughing and telling him stories of how his godfather could transform into a dog and would go running around with werewolves.

"You're a wizard," he whispered.

Harry shot him a look. "Well, I don't usually go about _broadcasting it_, but yeah, I am pretty good at what I do."

"Sorry. Do…do you want to talk somewhere private?"

"Not really." And Edward couldn't deny the hurt he felt.

"I still have feelings for you," he repeated.

"And I told you it's a little late for that." The Brit sighed and crossed his arms. "Look, Edward, you've got a girlfriend. I don't want to interfere with that."

The vampire nodded. He felt a little ashamed as he realized that he hadn't thought about Bella once during their conversation. "Are you going to stay here long?"

"I'll be in Forks for the day."

"I meant in Washington."

"For the week."

Edward nodded. "Where are you staying?"

Harry gave him the name of the hotel, and with a little more pressing, the room number.

"I might come to see you sometime," he said, conflicting feelings knotting his insides.

"Fine," Harry said. "I've got to go now."

Edward nodded, and the wizard walked away, not once looking back.

He lingered a moment, unsure of what he wanted or was meant to do afterward. He didn't want to go immediately see Bella, which was possibly a first for him since they'd gotten together. He returned to his car and drove a little slower to his house, trying to collect his thoughts. This unexpected encounter had left him feeling more than a little confused, and somewhat horrified. How could he have loved someone for so many years and not known it? He parked in the garage, mind only half concentrated on his maneuvers, and climbed out, humanly slow. He debated going up, into the house, but exited the garage and headed for the forest instead, intent on running and organizing his thoughts in there.

It did him no good; his thoughts were too chaotic. On one hand, he had part of himself insisting that he reacquaint himself with Harry, and another reminding him of his promises to Bella, of his intense love for her.

Without even knowing it, he'd ended up facing the Swan residence. He paused at the edge of the property, barely out of the line of trees, and looked up at Bella's window. He couldn't see her immediately, and assumed she was on her bed.

"Bella…" he started, voice uncertain. "We need to put off the wedding for a while."

Alarm passed on her beautiful face. "Why?" she demanded.

Edward shook his head. "It's Harry…I don't know what to do." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Who's Harry?"

"The guy I spoke to in the street the other day. When I saw him, I rediscovered some suppressed memories." The next part was a bit more difficult to force out. "We used to be together."

"What do you mean, 'together'?" she asked, looking as if she were dreading the answer.

"Together…as in intimate. As in I knew every part of him, and he knew every part of me, and we loved each other fiercely."

"But, Edward, that was years ago!" she cried. He looked at her, and his dead, un-beating heart twisted in anguish at the sight of hers.

"I know, but its… my memories were suppressed. I never fell out of love with him, Bella. I still love him," he said, torment wrenching through his body.

"What about me?" she asked weakly. "What about our love? **I love you more than everything else in the world combined. No one's ever loved anyone as much as I love you**, Edward."

"I know, Bella," Edward said, fighting to break through the self-loathing thoughts that were probably clouding her mind at the moment. "**And I love you. It's a poor excuse for what I'm doing, but it's still true. I have always loved you, and I will always love you.**" Bella said nothing. She hung her head, her hair falling down to curtain her face and sending him a whiff of that scent that he loved and hungered for. "I just need to sort out my feelings for Harry before we get married. If…no, when we get married I want to be sure I can love you and only you."

"I thought I was special to you," Bella said brokenly, and his eyes caught sight of a single glistening tear sliding down her cheek.

"You are, Bella," he argued, moving to kneel in front of her. He took her unresisting hand in his gently and wiped her tear away. "You gave meaning to my existence. You gave me a _reason_ to exist, Bella. But Harry…he gave me a reason to exist too. He brought me out of a very dark period of my life. He shared his world with me. We shared so much together. When I was forced to leave him, I was lost…until you came along. Don't you see, Bella? You are special to me. You both are."

Bella shook her head, but no more tears came. "Stay with me. Don't leave me again. You swore you'd never leave me again. I can't be without you, Edward. I'd rather die," she begged.

His heart ached and he took her in his arms gently. She buried her face into his chest. "I'm not leaving you, Bella," he murmured firmly. "I just need to sort things out with Harry."

She didn't reply, instead clutching at him for so long that he started to instinctively worry for her health. He moved them to her bed gently and swathed her in blankets. He didn't dare try and move away, but she clutched at his arms and tugged him down to the mattress anyway. He complied, and they laid there in silence for a moment.

"What am I supposed to tell my mom? She's been so excited," she muttered morosely.

"Tell her I need to handle some…personal issues."

"What if she presses me? I don't want my parents to know my boyfriend used to be gay. They'll…think you're not committed to me. Charlie already thinks that. I don't want it to be worse."

He sighed. "It's up to you to tell them however much you're comfortable with. If you don't tell them, they'll just make up excuses and theories. Me being with a man might be one of them."

Bella hid her face in wool. Her shoulders shook, and he moved to stroke at her back gently. "Why he have to show up now?" she lamented. "Why _now_? So close to our wedding?"

He had no answer for her. He felt her pain, her torment, her confusion and self-loathing. But he felt his own sense of completion and love even stronger.

* * *

A/N 4: This fic has actually been finished, but I'm posting the next chapter next week. Because I'm like that.

Reviews make me happy!


	2. Chapter 2

"I want to make love to you before you leave me," Bella said, face coming out from the blankets. Her eyes were still watery but determined.

He started to protest immediately. "Bella—"

"No, listen to me. I love you, Edward. I love you so much. I want to do this with the man I love."

"Bella, I won't do it. I'll hurt you, it's unavoidable. Even Harry gets hurt and he—"

Her face twisted in agony and he immediately regretted bringing in Harry's name. "You've done it with him! But you won't with me! You say you love me, Edward, but not as much as you love him? Is that it?"

"Bella, you know that's not true," he objected weakly.

She approached him, eyes alight with something akin to desperation. He had half a thought to run away.

"I love you, Edward. And I want you, Edward," she said, and kissed him. Her soft lips, smoother and plumper than Harry's, felt like roses against him. She was removing her jacket as their lips moved against each others.

"This isn't a good idea," he protested, and was silenced by his insistent fiancée. She unlocked their lips only to pull off her shirt, and within moments, they were kissing again, and Bella's burning hands were tugging at his own clothes. He allowed himself to be undressed, and took hold of her and separated them.

Bella was flushed, lips reddened and eyes foggy with desire. He felt…desire for her, not only for her blood, rushing through her veins by her rapidly pounding heart, but also for her body: slim, curvy, and being offered to him. He kissed her firmly and laid her carefully on the bed.

(SCENE EDITED OUT)

He froze, eyes still closed, and calmed himself. His eyes snapped open.

Bella was lying still, mouth partially open, eyes closed. Sudden terror shot through him and he yanked himself out and away from her. She made a tiny noise, as if in protest.

His aching, undead heart calmed. No, she wasn't dead. He could hear her heartbeat, could hear her breathing. Perhaps she had fainted.

Shame went through him this time. He had been far too vigorous with her. He'd been selfish, concentrating only on his own pleasure, and it'd been Bella that paid the price.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he murmured to her unresponsive body. "I love you, I'm so sorry."

He wallowed in self pity and hate for about twenty seconds before she started coming to. Immediately, he was by her side.

"Bella? Bella? Are you alright?" he demanded worriedly, caressing her face cautiously.

She nodded woozily, a groan coming from her throat. "What happened?"

"I hurt you," Edward said miserably. "I swore I'd never hurt you. I was supposed to show you my love but I only hurt you."

"No," she corrected immediately, seemingly coming back to her senses immediately upon seeing his naked body. "It was amazing, Edward. _You_ were amazing." There was silence for a second, while she simply stared adoringly at him. As always, he couldn't resist the power of her love for long, and tentatively smiled back. "I'm glad I waited to do it with you," she whispered. "I love you so much. **I love you more than everything else in the world combined.**"

"I love you, Bella," Edward replied, trying to communicate just how much with his eyes, and kissed her slowly. When they pulled apart, Bella smiled and snuggled into her pillows.

"I need some rest. You wore me out, you stud," she teased, a smile on her face.

"Sleep, Bella. I'll be here when you wake up," he said, stroking her hair. He leant down to wrap her in her blankets and peck her forehead, the corners of his lips pulling at the sight of her resting. It only took a moment for her breaths to level out again and he sighed quietly, reluctantly turned his thoughts to Harry and how he'd react to this knowledge, especially given that Edward had just confessed his persisting feelings.

* * *

Bella woke up about two hours later, moving about stiffly. Edward could smell the blood spotting out of her, and he wanted very badly to taste it.

"Hey," she murmured, sitting up, her blanket crumpling to reveal her breasts. She grasped at the material uncertainly, as if hesitating to cover her nudity, but ultimately not doing so.

"Hey," he replied.

"Bathroom," she said, and tossed off the blankets and slid stiffly to the side of the bed. She got up, and Edward could not contain his flinch. The back of her thighs, and a portion of her buttocks were discolored in a startling purple. Her hips were spotted with the same discoloring.

"Bella!" he gasped, and she turned to face him immediately.

"Yes?" she asked expectantly. He wordlessly got up from the bed and marched her into the bathroom, spinning her around so she could see the extent of the damage he'd inflicted on her. "Oh," she said simply.

"Bella," he said sternly, trying to hide his anguish, "we will never do that again. Look at yourself! All these bruises…"

"It's alright, Edward," she insisted, turning her face away from the mirror to look at him instead. "I loved every minute of it. Like I love every minute I'm with you."

He resisted the human urge to sigh. "We'll never do that again, not while you're human. I refuse to hurt you again." He ran a hand through his hair. "I should have never let you talk me into this."

"Edward—"

"No, Bella. I…I have to go." He forced the words out. He couldn't stay here and look at her, not when he knew he'd hurt her, hurt the person he swore he'd love and cherish forever.

Panic overtook Bella's face. "You're going to _him_, aren't you?" She grabbed his arm. "You can't. Don't go to him. Stay with me," she begged, grasping his arm with both hands, so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

"Bella…" He carefully pried her insistent fingers off of his arm, mindful of the fragile digits, mindful of her fragility in general. He leaned in to kiss her. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, opening her hot lips and seemingly attempting to devour him. That thought had him smiling against her mouth; it was as if she were the predator instead of him. He pulled away. He saw the fear in her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you," she replied weakly. He carefully unwound her arms from his neck and her entire body seemed to slump in defeat. He stepped away and she made a move as if to follow him, but ultimately she stayed where she was.

He took his clothes from where they'd been tossed hurriedly and looked back at his fiancée. She looked so forlorn, like a kicked puppy. "I'll be back," he promised.

"When?" she demanded, hope brightening her entire demeanor. He had to smile at the sight, and she dazedly smiled back.

"Tonight," he promised. And she nodded shakily. And he put on his clothes and left.

* * *

"I slept with Bella," were the first words out of his mouth as soon as he stepped into Harry's hotel room. The man, just having opened the door, froze and looked at him blankly. The blankness turned to anger in an instant, though he did make an attempt to mask it.

"What?" Harry demanded, though Edward knew he had heard him perfectly well.

He ran a hand through his hair uneasily, and he forced himself to look into Harry's hard green eyes as he repeated himself.

"So what?" the wizard demanded testily after a moment. "She's your damn girlfriend. So what?"

It would have been obvious to anyone that Harry was not as unaffected as he wanted to pretend to be. The window rattled in its frame. A couple of lights flickered on and off as he fisted at the material of his trousers, trying to regain a semblance of control over himself. Edward could feel the surge of magic against his marble skin, the energy rearing up as if to pound him down, but diminishing at the last moment, and only sharp, unpleasant tingles were left rolling across his skin.

Harry growled and stalked off to glare out the window, turning his back to the vampire. "Whatever," he snapped petulantly, crossing his arms. "I don't even know why you're telling me this. I don't know why you're here when you should be with her. She's your girlfriend, after all."

Edward would have shifted uncomfortably if he were a human. Instead, he did his best to gather his courage and he stepped into the room, closing the door with a soft click. "She's actually my fiancée," he corrected quietly.

At his words, magic filled the room violently, actually surrounding Edward and squeezing him to the point of discomfort. The smell of smoke and fire filled his senses and he felt panic instinctively seize his throat.

"You didn't think to tell me that beforehand?!" Harry asked icily, glaring him down with such fury that Edward wondered if he might spontaneously catch fire. "Mr. I-still-have-feelings-for-you?"

"You didn't mind when she was just my girlfriend!" Edward protested, and they both knew it was a weak argument.

"I did mind!" Harry shouted as he stormed towards him, his handsome face twisted in hurt and hate. "I told you I didn't want to interfere with you and her!"

"I—"

"What are you here for?" the wizard barked, stopping an inch away from him. He seemed to be forcing himself to take several breaths, though his body was still incredibly taut.

"I'm here for you," came his immediate reply.

Harry rolled his eyes, looking irritable. "What do you want from me?"

"I wanted to see you. I didn't have all these memories before you came into town. I didn't have these feelings before." Edward paused. "I need to sort out my relationship with you before I marry Bella."

He saw Harry's jaw clench and unclench and clench. "There is no relationship between you and me," he said tightly. "I loved you, and one day you disappeared."

"Why?"

"How the bloody hell would I know?!" Harry shouted. He stalked powerfully back to the window, staring out at the grey skies. Edward didn't need to read his mind to know what he was thinking; his posture screamed confused and bleak and angry.

Edward stared at him, stared at his broad back and rigid shoulders. "What did you do afterwards?"

"I moped," Harry mumbled to the glass, but Edward could hear him perfectly clearly. "I looked for you. I waited for you. Then I gave up. If you'd still wanted me you'd have returned or left a way for me to contact you." He shrugged helplessly. "So I dated Ginny."

(_Ginny…_) He remembered the name. He remembered the face: a very pretty redheaded girl with six brothers. He remembered the prettiness vanishing from her face as she cast magic on him to negate his strength and erase his memories. But she'd always seemed very friendly to Harry.

"How did that go?" he asked, ignoring the coiling of jealousy in his chest.

The slumping shoulders gave another shrug. "It was fine," he said neutrally. "But she was pushy. Really pushy."

Edward frowned at him. "Did you love her?"

Harry shrugged again. "Dunno. Maybe."

"I love you, you know," he had the sudden urge to admit.

Harry shot him a filthy look. "Yes," he said icily. "I can tell."

Edward sighed hopelessly. "I love you both. I know you, but I don't know you, and that's messing things up."

"_Messing things up_?" Harry repeated incredulously, and he turned to face him fully once more. The outpour of magic felt harsh enough to cut his marble skin. "You're the one who came to me! I didn't ask you to come over and talk to me! I didn't do a damn thing to you!"

"That's not what I—"

"You're the one standing in my damn hotel room! You're the one _messing things up_!"

"Harry—"

"But since everything's my fault, I guess I should just leave town immediately and never come back, so you can be fine and dandy with your precious _Bella_," he spat, as if her name were a filthy curse.

"Harry, Harry, I _love _you," Edward protested, coming towards him to grasp at his shoulders. The wizard shrugged him off angrily, and Edward's hands fell to his sides. "When a vampire falls in love, it's for eternity," he pressed on. "I willlove you _forever_, Harry, just as I will love Bella forever. I had no idea I loved you before you came into town. Long ago, I hurt you, and now I need to make it right."

"It's too late," Harry responded bitterly. "You're committed to that…girl."

"I can make it better," Edward assured him, taking Harry's hands in his, rubbing his thumbs against the smooth backs, soothing him as if the wizard were a skittish animal instead of the Master of Death.

"I can't think straight right now," Harry grumbled, but his posture seemed to deflate slightly. "You and that stupid tart have got me all messed up."

Edward looked at him reproachfully. "That's my fiancée you're talking about."

Harry glared at him, and made an aborted movement, as if to pull his hands away from the cold ones encasing them. "Don't remind me." The harshness of his glare lessened and something like mockery replaced it. "You do know you're cheating right now? That's not usually a good foundation for a solid marriage."

Edward was running his hands up and down his clothed arms, and gripped his wrists gently to pull them closer. Harry immediately tensed back up and seemed wary. "Bella understands." Well, not really…not at all, but Harry didn't need to know that. He knew that if either he or Bella asked it of him, Harry would undoubtedly leave that very second. That was the type of person he was: self-sacrificing. In that sense, both his loves were very similar. But Edward pushed that thought from his head and kissed Harry.

Kissing Harry and kissing Bella were two very different feelings. It was like drinking grizzly blood and drinking mountain lion blood; the same sensation, the same satisfaction, but two very different tastes. Bella tasted…delicious, as if the appeal of her blood could be tasted through her soft mouth. Harry, from a food standpoint, was completely unappealing. The smell, or taste, of his blood was muted, and what Edward could sense from it was a sort of fiery undertone, as if Harry's blood was threatening him with death. It was…thrilling.

Harry's lips broke away from his own. "We aren't doing this," he muttered, eyes half-closed, and they opened up to reveal his dazed and darkened eyes.

"Are you telling me you don't want to?" he replied, one hand reaching up to caress his jaw, and the other reaching down for a gentler caress against his crotch. He leaned in to kiss at the corner of other man's twitching lips.

"You're such a damn tease." But hands settled warmly on his buttocks and attempted to give them a pinch.

Their lips joined again, hot against cold, tongues entwining languidly, passion building slowly. Hands grabbed at bodies, bodies pressed closer. That hot mouth broke away from his as Harry moved to attempt to lick and suckle at his neck as he panted eagerly for breath, intensifying the sensations against Edward's skin.

"Take me," the vampire begged. "Please take me, my love."

Harry pulled away, just far enough to look into Edward's eyes, his own emerald eyes softening and intensifying all at once. There was only a moment of hesitation before their clothing vanished and they both gasped at the temperature shock of each other's skin. Their lips locked back together and Edward pulled them back over to the bed, allowing Harry to fall atop of him, opening his legs so that Harry could lie between them. The position felt as natural as leaning over Bella and taking her.

(SCENE EDITED OUT)

"I love you," Edward said quietly, running his cold fingers through the mop of unruly dark hair.

It took a moment, but he did hear a reciprocated sentiment mumbled against his neck.

* * *

Edward was…happy.

He spent his days and nights split between both of his loves; he'd spend the day and night with Bella, and the following day and night with Harry, and so on. Endlessly, he told them that he loved them. They echoed the sentiment and the other person was forgotten, for the moment.

Everything had changed and nothing had changed.

Charlie was attempting to convince Bella to go to university, with no success. She was stubbornly insisting that the wedding would go on, even if both members of the Swan family were getting frustrated at Edward and his lack of commitment, and getting rather vocal about it.

And Bella kept trying to convince him to have sex with her again, and though he was sorely tempted, he adamantly refused to hurt her. If she worked him up enough, he left and went to Harry, whom he knew could control his body and base instincts.

The more time Edward spent with the wizard, the deeper in love he fell. Harry was caring, and generous, and funny, and one of the major differences with Bella was that he was very independent. He was never crushed if Edward had to cancel their plans, though he did look disappointed and often irritated. With Bella, he did his best to stick to their plans. Bella showed her devastation easier, and he hated seeing such emotions on her beautiful face. Not to mention staying with her allowed Edward to keep an eye on her, keeping her away from danger (and those mutts from La Push). Lately, he'd been worrying more than usual about her; she'd been looking ill, and often smelled of vomit, though she wouldn't tell him what was wrong.

One day, when he was with Harry, he spotted her coming out of the pharmacy, looking grim. He'd wanted to see what was going on, but was mindful of the wizard walking next to him, who'd undoubtedly seen Bella as well, and continued walking on. He enjoyed his day out with him, even if they couldn't openly show affection for each other, not having canceled his wedding yet, and crept into Bella's room that night.

She was expecting him, sitting on her bed, staring blankly at the wall. Her demeanor brightened enough to rival the sun when she caught sight of him.

"Edward," she said, and hugged him. He automatically returned her embrace. "I have something to tell you."

"Yes?" he asked.

"Edward," she repeated breathily, her face a dazzled glow. "I'm pregnant."

He stared at her. The word looped itself in his mind, endlessly. "Pregnant?" he repeated. "How is that possible?" It didn't occur to him to ask whether or not it was his. He knew… perhaps instinctively, perhaps intellectually, because Bella loved him too much to lay with another…that it was his.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Edward, when a man and a woman love each other very much—"

"No, but…I'm a vampire. It shouldn't be possible," he said, dread pooling in his stomach.

"We can have Carlisle check tomorrow, if you want."

Absently, he nodded. She lied down on the bed, and he followed, swathing her in blankets before taking her in his arms. "Was that what your trip to the pharmacy was for?" She briefly looked puzzled. "We saw you this morning. I wasn't stalking you, I'm trying to stop," he said, attempting a joke, but the comment only made her droop.

"I never minded you stalking me," she admitted quietly.

He kissed her forehead in response. "Go to sleep, Bella." She gave him another look before wiggling around to get comfortable and closing her eyes.

"Sing for me," she muttered, and he did. Her breathing soon evened out, and he allowed himself to feel dread and fear. How could he have impregnated Bella? Dread filled him further as he eased himself away from Bella and took out his cellphone. His scrolled through the contacts and settled on one. He steeled himself…and dialed.

"Evening, love," Harry said, voice distorted through the receiver.

"Hi," Edward said simply.

"Did that girl go out of town?" Harry asked excitedly.

Edward felt shame course through him instead. Harry…poor Harry thought he was calling to tell him he changed his plans with Bella. He took a deep, unnecessary breath. "Bella's pregnant," he said.

There was silence on the end for a long time. The only way he knew Harry hadn't hung up was his erratic breathing. "What…did you say?" his voice finally crackled through, sounding hopeless and betrayed and desolate.

"Bella's pregnant," he said miserably. There was a loud oath from the other side of the line and the call ended in a smash of static. He could only surmise that Harry had flung the phone away from himself. He grasped his own phone a little harshly, the metal cracking a bit in his hand as he leaned his forehead against it. "Oh Harry," he cried. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Bella slept on blissfully, unaware of her fiancé's distress.

* * *

Surprisingly shaken, Carlisle confirmed Bella's pregnancy. If Edward had been human, he'd have fallen to his knees. But then again, if he'd been human, he wouldn't be worrying about with a vampire baby would do to his Bella.

"We should get rid of it," he stated.

"I'm keeping it, Edward," Bella countered immediately.

"I won't risk your health, Bella!" he insisted.

Bella looked at him, loving determination filling her eyes. "It's our baby, Edward," she said softly. "It was made from our love."

"Your father's going to hit the roof," he hissed. "And Jacob too."

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I love you. They know that."

He knew that they knew that. But he was sure it wouldn't make any difference.

* * *

Harry was not answering the door when Edward came up. He tried his number again, only to go to voicemail instantly. Edward couldn't even listen to his love's voice for a small while; Harry hadn't personalized his welcome message.

He didn't think the hotel would like it if he was caught hanging out in front of a room for excessive periods of time, and the hotel didn't have a proper lobby to sit in, so he sullenly returned to his own home. Esme was the first person he saw. She offered him a smile.

"Are you alright, Edward?" He didn't bother with a response. He knew he wasn't being fair, taking out his frustration on the woman that practically his mother, but, sadly, she was used to the treatment.

He sat at the piano, and played for hours, checking the clock every so often. At seven o' clock precisely, he left, going to Harry's hotel. When he got to Harry's room, he could hear movement inside, material swishing and paces back and forth. Stomach twisting, he knocked on the door. The movements paused, then continued on, though he didn't hear any footsteps coming towards the door. He knocked again and was again ignored.

"Harry," he called. "I know you're in there." Still, his love did not approach the door. "Harry, please open up." After several seconds of the door staying shut, Edward sighed and simply stood in front of the door. The polished wood seemed to shine at him mockingly. "Harry! Please let me in."

"I'm such an idiot," he heard Harry say, his muffled voice somewhere between sorrowful and furious. "And you're a right bastard for tricking me."

"Harry—"

"Go away. I don't want to see you. I don't want to hear you."

"Let me in, please!" he begged. "Even if it's to curse me, Harry, please."

There was a series of inane grumblings and Edward's undead heart leapt into his throat as footsteps came to the door. The locks released and the door opened. Harry looked rumpled; his hair messier than usual, his eyes reddened, and his clothes smelling of yesterday. A finger was pointed at his face, and Edward recoiled as pain shot through him and he felt his nose _break_.

"There you go," he heard Harry say, tone cold enough to rival an Alaskan winter, and moved to close the door. Edward leapt forward, one hand on his nose, one hand out to catch the door. Harry stared at him, livid, finger coming back up in preparation to hurt him further.

"I love you," Edward declared, begging Harry with his eyes, with his voice. The wizard's face went from stony to incensed. His hand left the door to clutch at Harry's coat. "I love you."

"Let go of me," Harry hissed, voice pure ice.

Edward shook his head vehemently. "I won't."

If possible, Harry's face twisted further in loathing. His hands landed on Edward's wrists, magic crackling and stinging his skin. "Let. Go." Still, Edward refused. Harry's hands clenched him so hard he might've actually felt physical pain.

"Harry," he tried again, "I love you. The baby changes nothing."

"It changes everything!" Harry roared, and a sharp jolt of magic had Edward gasping as electricity seemed to strike him. "You can have a family with that _twit_. Even with magic, we can never have kids together."

"I didn't want a kid in the first place!" Edward shouted, temper finally coming out. Using his superior strength, he pushed Harry, not too forcefully, into the room, closing the door with his foot. Fury quickly clouded Harry's beautiful features. "Don't leave me," he pleaded, pressing their bodies together so Harry could not escape. "Stay here. Stay with me."

"Not a chance!" Harry snarled, doing his best to try and push him off. The vampire resisted. "Edward, I swear, if you don't get off me this instant—"

"You can't leave, Harry. Not when I just got you back!"

"You never got me back. You left me four years ago, and you moved on!"

"No! My memories of you were suppressed. My love for you was suppressed! I love you. I've always loved you."

"Obviously not as much as that girl!"

"No! I love you equally! Why can't either of you understand that? I need both of you in my life."

"It doesn't even matter how much you say you love me. I'm not staying here. I never should have agreed to wait for you. I should never have indulged you. I knew you had a girlfriend and still I waited for you! Still I listened to your false declarations! Still I fucked you! I'm putting an end to this now! I won't be your little piece of cock on the side while you go off and raise a family."

"Harry—"

But magic surrounded him and flung him across the room and against the door, hard enough to knock it clean off of its hinges. Edward was back on his feet in an instant, but Harry's magic gathered again. The last Edward saw of Harry was his thunderous face as he disappeared with a _pop_.

* * *

Edward was…miserable.

He'd stayed at the hotel all day, hoping to catch Harry when he came back for his belongings. Instead, it had been a bellboy that had come, looking at the broken door in shock.

"Please," Edward said immediately, jumping out of the chair he was occupying and scaring the man half to death. "Is the owner of the suitcase here?"

The employee stared at him for a long time before answering. "Uh…he…no," he stuttered. (_Where the hell did this guy come from? Has he been sitting here all this time? I need to tell security about this._)

Edward ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Where is he?"

"I don't know, sir." The man gave him a strange look before coming forward and picking the bag up. (_He's not here. If he was, he'd be getting his own damn suitcase._).

"I need to talk to the manager," Edward said, striding forward.

At that, the bellboy gave him another strange look. (_What the hell is wrong with this idiot?_) "Sir, the manager is very busy. If you have a complaint concerning your stay, the receptionists will be more than glad to help." (_I'm not even sure he's a guest here. Definitely need to tell security._)

"No, no complaints." He let out a sigh. There was no way the hotel would allow him to take Harry's suitcase. "It's nothing. Never mind."

(_What a weirdo. I'll have to do an inventory of the room as soon as I'm finished with the bag. A kid his age would probably go straight to the mini bar._) "Have a nice day, sir," said the bellboy, and left.

Edward stood in the room for a while longer, contemplating what to do, before he started to leave. From the minds of the staff, he discovered that Harry had paid for his stay in advance, and his card had been charged for the damage to the room, which had made Edward's guilt swell.

He made his way back home, looking around as he went, hoping to catch a glimpse of his love. But there was nothing.

"You're back a day early," Bella remarked, looking pleased to see him.

"Harry's left," he replied, trying to hide his misery. _I hope you're happy_, he wanted to add, but it wasn't her fault. It was his own. If only he'd had the strength to resist the temptation of Bella's body, if only he'd had the strength to resist Harry's pull…

"Oh," she said, surprise going across her face. He wished, not for the first time, that he could tell what she was thinking. "That's…too bad."

Edward rolled his eyes. Bella caught the movement and looked away, biting her bottom lip.

"I love you," Edward said wretchedly, because it was all he had left.

She smiled at him, and it was enough to alleviate the pain for a brief moment. "I love you too." She continued smiling, and rubbed her belly. It was sporting the tiniest of curves already.

Edward sighed, and pushed thoughts of Harry out of his head. He had to concentrate on Bella now.

* * *

**A/N:** the sex scenes have been edited out because I think I've kinda toed the line with the blowjob scene from the last chapter. The complete chapter is available at Archive of our own, under the same title and pen name. And I'm not actually too satisfied with the scene between Harry and Edward (and the situation is even stranger since I think the Bella/Edward scene is quite well done...); I think I rushed through it because I wasn't actually too into it.

Thanks to my reviewers last chapter: misguided gh0st, sad sabrin, 1, and my two anonymous reviewers. You guys are great! Thanks to all who alerted and favorited too!

Reviews make me happy! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **again, phrases in bold are by Stephenie Meyer.

* * *

Bella's pregnancy progressed poorly and rapidly, leaving Edward no time to fret about Harry's abrupt departure from his life. As the swell of her stomach increased, her health deteriorated. She threw up nearly everything she ate, and barely slept. There were arguments nearly every day about her choice to keep the…thing that grew inside of her, not only between him and her. The entire coven, plus Jacob sometimes, threw in their two cents.

But every day, they professed their love for each other. Edward's love for Bella grew each day, in tandem with his torment and hatred for the parasite within her, sapping away her life. Bella was slowly dying by his actions. But every day, she smiled despite her pain, despite her exhaustion. Every day, she looked more and more gaunt; dark circles around her eyes and her bones becoming more pronounced.

They both doubted she'd survive the birth. He told her what they both knew: that he didn't want to continue existing without her, but he didn't want to turn her. He could never damn her to this hellish existence. She had told him frankly that she would brave hell if it meant being with him every day. She told him of her desire to become a vampire, to be with him and with their child forever. If he truly could not turn her, she begged him to live on, for their child, for the child that she loved so much and that he hated so much for hurting her.

And then, one day, he heard a voice from inside her. Not quite a voice…but thoughts. It had shocked him to his core. The child was sentient already, at this second stage of the pregnancy, and it was sad that it was causing its mother pain. He relayed the child's thoughts to Bella, who glowed brightly enough to rival the sun.

It was then that he decided to turn her. He simply could not be without her. Harry hadn't wanted him. Edward knew he'd been foolish with regards to Harry; Bella's love and need for him had never wavered. He needed to honor her devotion. He would give her what she wanted, and spend the rest of his eternal existence attempting to make up for his double betrayal.

* * *

The birth had been…horrific.

The baby had attempted to chew its way out of Bella's fragile body. Her ribs had broken. Her spine had snapped. Her blood and his own helplessness overwhelmed his senses. She screamed and there was no way he could ease her pain.

He had eventually bit through Bella's stomach to manually remove the child. He did not taste her blood. He would never give into that temptation.

He held the babe up for her to see.

"Renesmee," she murmured lovingly, and Edward stared in wonder at the tiny being in his arms. His daughter. He was holding his daughter.

The joy faded away when he realized Bella had gone still. Ice cold terror replaced it. Rosalie took the baby away. He set to work injecting Bella with venom and attempting to get her heart to restart. He thought he had failed. He thought he had failed Bella. He thought he had lost both of his loves.

Three days later, Bella took her first steps as a vampire.

Her elation was contagious, though she was put off by the fact that she couldn't see her daughter because of the human blood running through her veins. Newborns were notorious for their lack of control. Better safe than sorry.

But they needn't have worried. Bella had unbelievable control. She had been capable of resisting the urge to attack hikers in the forest, something completely unheard of in a newborn. Every instant, Bella amazed Edward more and more. Nearly everything about her had changed in a positive way: she was surprisingly graceful, even by vampire standards, and her beauty had become otherworldly, stunning enough to match Rosalie. She could keep up with and even outrun Edward, and won an arm-wrestling match against Emmett, though that would change over time. Despite all this, to his frustration, Edward found that he still couldn't read her mind.

However, he found that a small drawback compared to everything else. They were the same temperature now, and he could hold her for hours without having to fear that she'd catch a cold. He didn't have the temptation of her blood hanging over him all the time. He didn't have to worry about her fragility anymore, in fact, as a newborn, Bella was stronger than he was.

It was the first night as a vampire that Edward discovered just how much turning her had made things easier on the both of them. Neither of them had to hold back their desire. Neither of them had to watch their movements. Edward no longer worried about hurting her. It would be impossible for her skin to bruise. It would be impossible for her to faint. It would be impossible for him to physically hurt her ever again.

(SCENE EDITED OUT)

"Wow," Bella breathed, her eyes bright and so full of love. "**You've been holding out on me.**"

Edward chuckled and kissed her again.

They got married two weeks later. Thank goodness it was mostly Alice and Esme doing the planning; not having to sleep made things go faster. It was a beautiful ceremony, and Bella was absolutely breathtaking in her dress. He kissed her to officially marry them, he danced with her, he ate cake as tradition dictated…and throughout all of this, he kept looking through the crowd, searching for a certain face, when in his mind he knew that he should have been focusing on his beautiful bride. Shame coursed through him every time he looked up unnecessarily.

If Bella noticed his distractedness, she didn't say anything. Carlisle simply gave him a look. His father's thoughts spoke for him.

The only possible downside of everything was the fact that Jacob had transferred his affections in an instant from Bella to his precious daughter, claiming he had 'imprinted'. Renesmee hadn't even been born for five minutes before the mutt was all over her, as if the entire moment hadn't been stressed enough. In the heat of the moment, Edward had attacked him, but he later decided could forgive that, in time. He didn't mind if Jacob didn't act inappropriately and if it meant another protector for his daughter. Not to mention the mutt had managed to bring Bella and Charlie closer, clever enough to not fully disclosing the changes she'd gone through, and his actions had lead to grandfather and granddaughter meeting for the first time.

It was three months of bliss, focusing on the miracle that was their daughter and the passion of his love for Bella. Renesmee had surpassed all expectations that any of them had had. She could project her thoughts by touching others. Edward admitted he'd felt a little stab of jealousy that she could peek into Bella's thoughts when he'd never been able to. She was speaking fully by the time she was a week old. She was walking after three. She was growing at an exponential rate

And then, Renesmee, by her youth and beauty, had been mistaken for an immortal child. Alice confirmed that the Volturi would come, intent on wiping them out.

Carlisle suggested they find themselves witnesses as to prove Renesmee wasn't an immortal child and to possibly fight the Volturi if they wouldn't listen to reason (and the majority of Alice's visions showed this outcome). The entire Cullen family set off in search of allies, save Edward, Bella, and Renesmee, who didn't quite have the connections that the rest of the family did, and used this time to bond, knowing they had limited time left.

And it was with this knowledge in his heart that Edward sat down one day and decided to contact Harry, ignoring the churning in his stomach.

_Harry,_

_How are you? I hope this letter finds you well. I need your help. I know we didn't part on the best of terms, but I beg you to listen._

_I believe I've told you about our governing body and how they uphold peace and separation by enforcing strict rules. They believe we've broken one of these rules due to the new addition to our family, my daughter Renesmee, born nearly three months ago. The entirety of my family is searching for witnesses to testament to her uniqueness and to prove that we have broken no laws. But our governing body is not known for its mercy. If bad comes to worse, your special skills would be very valuable to us, as well as your moral support._

_They are set to arrive soon. I beg you to help protect my daughter._

_All my love,_

_Edward_

* * *

Harry arrived quietly, with no fanfare, nearly a week later in the backyard, holding a broomstick. As soon as Edward caught a whiff of him, he couldn't help himself, running out of the house immediately.

"Hi," Edward said immediately, wanting to touch him, wrap him in his arms and feel his warmth. It'd been a feeling he'd been craving ever since Bella had been turned. Instead, he simply swept his eyes over the wizard, knowing his physical affections wouldn't be well received.

"Hi," Harry uttered. He looked tired. He only allowed Edward a glance before his eyes went up to the house. Edward squashed down the hurt he felt at being passed over, but knew the circumstances for the reunion weren't easy. "She looks different," Harry said flatly, and the vampire instantly knew he was looking up at the bedroom window, from which Bella was undoubtedly looking at them.

"I had to turn her. She didn't survive the birth," he replied lowly, sharp pain going through him at the memory.

The wizard hummed, seeming indifferent, crossing his arms. "Congratulations by the way."

"Thanks." Hope tickled his dead insides. "Do you want to meet her? Renesmee, I mean."

"Maybe later." It was said in a dismissive tone that had his hope dying instantly. "I need to acquaint myself with the area. When, precisely, are the Volturi going to come?"

"Alice said they'd be here 'when the snow sticks to the ground'. Given how up north we are, it could be very soon."

"Who's Alice?" Harry asked, pseudo-casually, but Edward detected his elevated heart-rate immediately.

"My sister. Adopted sister. She can see into the future."

Harry frowned at him, finally looking at him. "She can see the future? Like prophecies?" The wizard's heart rate increased even more. There was a small amount of tension in his body.

"Not quite. She has visions, but they change all the time, since the future is so subjective. If someone makes a choice or another, it impacts everything that follows."

"So I guess it's pointless if I ask if we're going to win this fight."

"We don't know if it's going to be a fight. It's just very likely to be. Alice can't see past the shape-shifters that we're allied with."

"Shape-shifters?"

"The Natives you wanted to see a few months ago. Their legends are true. They can shift into wolves."

Harry made a non-committal noise, and shifted a little, looking back at the house, though he didn't seem to be looking at Edward's bedroom window anymore. "Did she know I'd come?"

"I don't know. She left, a bit abruptly, a few days ago."

Harry snorted. "Sounds like she knew this was pointless."

"Alice isn't like that," Edward said, a little testily. "She adores Bella. She adores Nessie. She'd fight with her dying breath."

"Thought vampires didn't need to breathe," he replied, eyes lighting up at Edward a little mockingly.

"It's a figure of speech."

Harry made another noise and continued looking at the house. "I thought your precious Bella must've been desperate for help if she agreed to having me here, but I guess not, judging by the look on her face." He cocked his head to the side. "Looks like she's got dung under her nose."

"She can hear you, you know." Harry shrugged in response. "And she knows you can help us."

The wizard gave him a look. "How would she know? Did you tell her?"

"I had to."

"No you didn't," was the dark-haired man's immediate reply. He was starting to look stony. "I know you have no respect for secrecy laws, given basically your entire relationship with her, but I do. She didn't need to be told. She has no reason for knowing."

"Your powers are similar to a vampire's, stronger, even. She thought you were just a regular human."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you had magic."

"Magic? Is that the word you used?"

"Yes."

Harry let out an irritated breath, heart thumping angrily. "What else?"

"That you could do amazing things, improbable things."

The other man looked at him for what seemed like eternity, fury simmering in his eyes. "You're an idiot." And he pivoted on his heel, mounting the broom smoothly, and was zipping away into the forest.

"Harry!" Edward called out instinctively, and gave chase after a moment's hesitation. The fear that Harry was leaving him already, after only a moment's reunion, coursed through his veins, urging him faster.

Even without his fear-fueled desperation, he was faster than the broom. He had caught up in three seconds, and took an enormous leap, intent on catching the tail end and dragging them back down to the floor.

But as soon as he'd jumped, Harry had taken out his wand. Edward's fingers were an inch away from his target, when he was abruptly sent careening off towards the floor.

Harry didn't look back at him, not even to send him a look of triumph, and flew off higher, until he was above the trees.

Edward landed on his feet instinctively, but, bewildered as he was, didn't reprise his chase immediately. He could only assume that Harry had just performed a feat of magic, to protect himself from him. Edward squashed down the hurt and ran after him.

He caught up very quickly, though Harry had flown up higher, as if fearful of another attempted grounding.

"Harry!" he called out, and leapt up, narrowly avoiding a branch.

The broom swerved out of his grasp, but he did meet Harry's surprised face. He leapt up again.

"Stop that!" Harry snapped, moving out of the way again, but Edward did manage to snag onto the polished wood, and the broom lurched downwards.

Harry cried out in surprise. "What are you doing, you maniac?!" The broom, surprisingly, managed to hold them both aloft in the air.

"Don't…" Edward started, but cut himself off. He hated the way he sounded so needy. He thought he'd gotten over this. "Don't leave."

"I'm not your damned dog, Edward," the other man spat, not bothering to hide his anger. "If I want to leave, I will."

"Please. Tell me what's wrong," he begged, though he really didn't want to have this conversation in midair.

"What's wrong?!" Harry repeated incredulously, and the broom reacted to his emotions by rising up even higher. "You've gone and told a secret to someone that had no business knowing it!"

"I'm sorry! But, please, can't we discuss this on the ground?"

"And since she can block your power, I don't know if I can Obliviate her."

"What? She won't tell anyone." They were approaching clouds now. "Harry, please, let's go back down."

He received a dirty look in response. "Why? Aren't you virtually indestructible? Wouldn't a fall from any height not hurt you whatsoever?"

"Harry, please. Let's go back down to the ground."

The wizard glared at him all while they floated back down. They landed in a field, full of dead plants crunching under the vampire's feet.

"I shouldn't have come back in the first place," Harry was muttering now, staring sullenly at the broom handle. "You're up against the Volturi. What if they discover what I am? What if they decide to attack my people after they're done with you? And what about the Muggles? What if they see us?"

"No, no," Edward hastened to reassure him. The urge to do so by touching him was very strong. "It'll be in a secluded, open area. It's important the humans don't see us, don't see what we are."

"And we feel the same way!" Harry shouted, feet finally hitting the ground. "But you go shooting off your mouth to anyone who'll listen!"

"No! I haven't. I only told Bella."

"What about the rest of your coven? Don't you hear everything that goes on in your house? And even outside of it?"

"They weren't in hearing range when I told her. I promise."

"You've promised me loads of things before," he replied icily. "I've no reason to believe you."

"Harry…"

"Why are they coming anyway?"

Edward sighed. "They think Nessie's an immortal child."

"I don't know what that means," Harry replied testily.

"They think she was a human child, turned into a vampire. Since they're so dangerous, the Volturi decreed them unlawful, and the punishment for creating one is the child's execution, as well as the creator's."

"Is she?" he asked bluntly.

Edward was alarmed he'd ask. "No, or course not! Bella gave birth to her. That's why she…died."

Harry shrugged coolly, broom rising in the air so the tips of his toes brushed against the dirt, as if he wanted to move away. "I don't know the whole story. Maybe there were complications and you had to turn them both."

"No. Nessie was fine." He stared at the wizard for a moment. "You should really see her."

"Why?" Harry demanded, bitterness creeping into his voice.

"She's nothing like I've ever seen before," Edward admitted, a tiny smile tugging at his lips. "She's a little miracle."

Those emerald eyes rolled in an arc. "Of course she is."

"Yes, she really is." His smile only widened at Harry's cynicism.

"How old is she? Three months? At that age, babies don't do more than poop and cry."

Edward laughed out loud. "She's grown really fast. You'd think she was around eight years old if you saw her."

"What?" Confusion colored Harry's features before pensiveness took over as he looked away. "Accelerated growth, then. I should have realized that it was way too soon for…Bella to have given birth already."

"She gave birth about three weeks after you left."

"Hmm."

"You should have let me explain," Edward said lowly, fixing the other man with a soft expression.

"What was there to explain? We shouldn't even have done what we did."

The vampire sighed. "I still love you."

"Don't start!" Harry said sharply, anger suddenly back in his eyes. "I came here because I'm meant to be your friend. I came here for your daughter. I'm not going to become your little piece of cock on the side again! I shouldn't have been in the first place!"

"That doesn't stop me from wanting you."

The other man threw his hands up in incredulity. "I can't believe you."

Edward shifted uneasily. "My feelings haven't just…evaporated because I've gotten married. And since you left so abruptly—"

"Don't blame this on me. We should have just been friends, should have just acted like friends. And alright, it was also partially my fault, since I gave in to you, but you should just have forgotten about it and moved on."

He sighed. "It's not that simple."

"Of course it's not. Not when you keep telling me you have feelings for me."

"But I do."

"Stop saying it! Stop thinking it! If you can't handle having me here, then tell me, and I'll go—"

"No!" he said quickly. "I'll be fine. I won't do anything…unsolicited."

"Good," Harry replied stiffly.

* * *

Bella strode towards Harry as soon as they entered the house, her movements fluid and graceful, her beautiful face stony. "Stay away from my husband," she growled, the vampire side of her coming to the surface in jealousy. She stepped between the two men carefully and wrapped a possessive arm around Edward's waist.

Harry's face was carefully disinterested as he stepped away respectively. "Congratulations on your marriage and your baby," he said neutrally.

"Thanks," said Bella, glaring at him. "And he's _mine_. He's _my_ husband." She squeezed his waist appropriately. "We have a child together. We have a life together. Stay away from him."

"You have no authority over me," Harry replied coolly. "Edward asked me to come here, for _your_ sake, and I'll spend as much time as I like with him."

Bella growled and stepped forward. "I know what you're trying to do. But you're nothing but a stupid little human that can't give him what he wants or needs. You're just deluding yourself."

"Are you kidding? The only reason he was attracted to you was because he thought you were food. Then you became his broodmare for a kid he didn't actually want. And now? You're nothing but a convenient lay."

She trembled with rage, her fists balling up into fists. "I don't care what you think. He's told me I'm the love of his life. I'm the _reason for his existence_. So your opinion doesn't matter. I simply won't stand for him having an affair with you."

"He's already had an affair with me, you dumb chit. I fucked him in the arse this morning." He paused. "Couldn't you smell it?"

Edward choked on his breath at the lie and Bella snarled, her beautiful face twisting into something inhuman and feral, and she lunged at him. Edward wrapped his arms around her immediately, doing his best to keep her from mauling the wizard. Harry had taken a step back, his wand appearing in his hand as he took a defensive stance.

"Let me go, Edward!" she shouted, grabbing at his arms, making him wince at her strength.

"Stop, Bella! We didn't do anything this morning!" he shouted. She looked like she might still murder Harry, who was observing the two of them unperturbedly, but she didn't move to attack him again. "I've already told you, both of you, that I love you two equally. Please stop fighting. When you hurt each other, it hurts me."

His wife turned on him in a flash. "I don't care if you love him!" she cried, desperation creeping into her voice. "You're married to _me_. You have a commitment to _me_. You're not supposed to go and sleep with other people."

Edward stared at her, his eyes soft, trying to will her into understanding. "Bella, I love him," he said, "just like I love you. He's a part of me, just like you are, but we haven't slept together again, I swear. Remember when you told Jacob that you loved the both of us and that we needed to stop fighting if we truly loved you?"

"That's different!" she screamed. "I never once slept with Jacob. I love him as my best friend. But you and _him_!" She looked at Harry with thinly veiled hate. "I thought your…thing with him would pass! I thought you got over him before we got married! Wasn't that the whole plan?! To get over him before we got married so we wouldn't have this problem?!"

"Bella—"

"You're nothing but a whiny and self-centered bitch," Harry said, finally speaking up. "I'm here to help with the Volturi. You know, the situation that _you_ caused with _your_ kid?"

"That's not your main motivation for being here!" Bella screamed, and Edward had to restrain her once more. Her breathing hitched as if she might cry. "You're trying to ruin my marriage!"

"You're ruining your own bloody marriage with your hissy fits," Harry said sneering.

Bella tried to lunge at him again, and Edward had to use his full strength to contain his irate wife. "Harry, please don't taunt her. She's a newborn, she doesn't know her strength yet. She could kill you in a second."

Harry rolled his eyes. "She can try."

Bella snarled at that further. Edward had never seen such a terrifying expression on her face. "Bella, my Bella…you need to calm down." Where was Jasper when you needed him? "Shh, my Bella. Calm down. I love you. I love you so much." He continued to whisper sweet nothings in her ear, noting out of the corner of his eye how Harry's expression shuttered. When he was reasonably sure she was calm enough, he said, "Why don't you go check on Nessie?" Edward released her from his hold, ready to grab her again if necessary, but Bella left the room, only sending Harry several scathing looks. The wizard stared back coolly.

When the door clicked behind Bella, he turned his attention on Edward, his expression still cool.

Edward sighed. "Harry—"

"Whatever," he snapped. "As soon as this bloody fiasco is over, I'm out of here. I don't want to be here. I'm here for her sake and that girl doesn't even have the decency to thank me."

"I'm very thankful," Edward said.

"I know, love," Harry said loudly, smirking. "You showed me just how much this morning."

Edward frowned as something shattered in the other room. "Will you stop, please? And she can hear you even if you were whispering, you know. You don't need to raise your voice."

"You were so happy to see me," Harry continued loudly, as if he hadn't heard Edward. "And you've got the tightest arse I've ever fucked."

Another thing broke and Edward growled. "Will you please stop? My daughter can hear you too!"

Harry's smirk diminished. "Oh. Sorry." He chuckled despite himself. Edward rolled his eyes and grasped Harry's hand, swinging the wizard onto his back, ignoring his shout of protest.

"Hold on," he said, and exiting the house swiftly, running and running until he was certain he was out of Bella's hearing range. He deposited Harry onto his feet and turned to face him. "I'd really appreciate it if you would stop taunting my wife."

Harry bristled, playful mood disappearing instantly. "She's the one who came over to me. She's the one who insulted me first. She's the one who tried to attack me. And you're telling _me _to be nice?"

Edward ran a hand through his hair. "Please. Just try and get along…if you can."

Harry shook his head, jaw clenched. "You need to talk to her," he ordered. "I wasn't even planning on saying a single word to her or to that kid of hers."

"That's my daughter too, you know," Edward said, approaching. "And you agreed to meet her."

"Don't remind me," Harry said sulkily. Edward came closer and kissed him deeply. "Didn't you hear that crazy bitch you married? She won't stand for an affair between us."

"I'll talk to her," Edward promised, and lowered himself onto his knees.

(SCENE EDITED OUT)

Harry exhaled and slumped against a nearby tree. "Was that your way of apologizing?"

Edward smiled at him. "Do you forgive me?" he asked coyly, still on his knees, lips shiny with come and venom.

Harry rolled his eyes, a smile making its way onto his handsome face. "I guess so. It was such a good and well thought-out apology after all. But you're still going to have to talk to her."

"Of course," he replied smoothly. "Do you want me to do that now?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Harry pushed himself off the tree and pulled Edward to his feet. "Go, before I do something that I might regret."

Edward cocked his head to the side, and kissed Harry before he could protest, before dashing off.

* * *

**A/N:** thanks to my reviewers from the last chapter: sad sabrin, kanikan, and stoic-genius, plus my two anonymous ones.

Again, you can see the non-edited version on Archive of our Own, under the same fic name and same pen name.

Reviews make me happy! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Bella was stiffly wrapped around Nessie when he came in, and only turned angry, betrayed eyes on him when he stepped fully into the room. She kissed their daughter on the head gently and sent her off, though it'd be futile as Nessie had the enhanced hearing of a vampire.

His wife rose fluidly and crossed her arms, looking at him with dark confusion in her ruby eyes.

"I can smell him all over you," she said flatly.

"Yeah," he replied, not bothering to make excuses.

She exhaled sharply, glaring at the floor. "You can't keep doing this to me."

"I know," he replied.

"You're married to me!" she said, coming closer, voice rising. "You made vows to me! You were supposed to _stop _with him!"

"I know."

His bland acceptance only seemed to fuel her negative emotions further. "So stay away from him! Or, better yet, send him away!"

"He's powerful, he can help with the Volturi—"

"I don't care how powerful he is! He can't protect our family if we don't have a united family to protect!"

"He's not here to protect our family!" he argued. He couldn't part with Harry again, not when he'd just gotten him here. "I asked him to come here for Nessie. She's the Volturi's priority, and her safety is my priority."

She stared at him in disbelief. "What are you saying?" she demanded, voice calm with a steely undertone. "Are you pretending you don't know that they're just using Nessie as an excuse to come and force you, Alice, and Jasper to join their guard? Are you pretending that, now, _we_ aren't your priority?"

"Of course, we are!" he said, frustrated, fists clenching uselessly at his sides, anger building up in him at her complete lack of understanding.

"I don't believe you," she replied flatly. "You run out to see him when he magically appears? You go off with him in the woods somewhere, and come back _covered_ in his scent? Your priority seems to be restarting your relationship with him and forgetting about the one you have with your wife and daughter!"

"Nessie has nothing to do with Harry and I," he said, doing his best to keep his voice even. His fists were clenched so hard that he thought he might have heard his skin crack.

"But Nessie has to do with you and me. I don't want…" she paused suddenly, and breaking eye contact as she worried her lip for a fraction of a second before releasing it and looking back at him. "I want us to be a proper family, Edward: you and me and Nessie, and Carlisle and Esme, and Alice and Jasper and Rosalie and Emmett…and Charlie and Jacob. Harry doesn't fit anywhere in there." Her red eyes begged him to understand as she came closer and stiffly uncrossed her arms to hold his wrists. She started to bite her lip again as her pinkies caressed his knuckles.

"He could," he said frostily, his desires warring within him to pull away from her and shout or take her in his arms and murmur endless apologies. He never did like arguing with Bella, though most of the time, it had been when she was human and thus on the subject of her safety. He knew he always had a very good chance at winning those arguments, given how much of a magnet for trouble she was, but he wasn't sure if he could force her to see his point of view this time.

"Edward," she sighed, "I know how you feel. I loved you and Jacob at the same time. But my love for you was, and forever will be, stronger."

"That's different. Jacob's imprinted. He doesn't see you in that way anymore. So there cannot be a relationship between the two of you."

Her grip tightening minutely around his wrists as she glanced away, seeming irritated. He thought about how much easier this would be if he could read her thoughts.

"And I guess," she spoke lowly, "if I asked you which one of us you loved more, I wouldn't like the answer."

He fought not to groan. "Bella, I've already told you, both of you, that I love the two of you equally."

"What has he done for you?" she burst out, her hands disappearing from around his wrists, taking a step back to make sure he was able to see the full extent of her displeasure. "I know that he helped you back…" her hand cut a wave in the air, "whenever. But you don't need him now. That dark period of your life is gone. We're starting a wonderful forever together, with our daughter and the rest of our family. Why do you need him?!"

Irritation coiled in his every muscle. "I've explained this to you before, Bella: a vampire's love is eternal. I cannot stop or suppress my love for him," he stressed. "And to be honest, I have no desire to."

Anger colored her beautiful features. "And I know that vampires don't like having their mates taken away from them."

"No one's taking me from you!" he couldn't help the rise in his voice. "_I love you_," he declared hotly, taking a step towards her. "I have no desire to leave you ever again."

"But you love him too!" she shouted back, fists balling up. Her breathing hitched for the briefest of moments, as if she wanted to cry, and the guilt welled up in him, the automatic reflex to make her happy kicking in. "How can you not understand how this upsets me? I know you hated that he left you a few months ago. I know you want him to stick around! What if he asks you to go back to England with him? Would you go?"

He was surprised by the question. He'd never even entertained the thought of returning to England, even if it would mean picking up where he and Harry had left off, rekindling the life they had made together. "No," he finally said. "I wouldn't." He didn't mind England; the weather was quite similar to Forks, but in the magical world, the prejudice against Creatures was daunting. And he couldn't bear to leave his family behind.

"And would you ask him to stay here?"

"No," he answered immediately. Harry, he knew, would never agree to it. His two partners were like water and oil, their personalities and inherent rivalry too strong to mix, or even coexist under the same roof. And Bella would never agree to it either. She'd see him – already did – as a replacement, and would change for the worse. And he couldn't even begin to fathom the effect it might have on Nessie; the tension around the house, between her parents, would be unbearable. He fought the urge to sigh. He knew he'd have to give up one of them, but he couldn't bear to leave Nessie. He wanted – needed – desperately to be part of her life, to experience being a parent.

"What are you planning on doing with him then?" she demanded, obviously not placated by his answer, crossing her arms across her chest protectively. "Have all the sex you can with him while he's still here? We haven't been married for four months and already you're having an affair."

"Bella," he sighed, and honestly didn't know how to answer her. Of course, he wanted to express his love for Harry in all ways possible, just as he wanted to with Bella. But he understood her hurt, her humiliation. She must have thought she wasn't enough for him, despite having given all of herself and the gift of their precious daughter. The realization made his unbeating heart ache, and he stepped forward and took her stiff form in his arms. "Harry changes nothing in our relationship," he murmured into her dark hair. She sighed against his chest, and he instinctively rubbed her back soothingly. "I know it's difficult to believe after everything I've put you through, but I love you, more than I've ever loved you before. I didn't think that was possible, but it's true. Harry won't be around much longer; let me spend this time with him, and I'll spend the rest of my existence making it up to you."

She tangled a hand into his hair and pulled him down to rest their foreheads against one another. Her cold breath ran pleasantly across his face as she defrosted little by little. Sighing, she spoke a little bitterly, "When I imagined my life as a vampire, I never imagined having to go through any of this."

He kissed her nose. "His time here will go by in the blink of an eye, in the grand scheme of things. To be honest, I don't expect to see him again."

"Really?" she asked, intrigued. "Why?"

"He has…other commitments back in England," he said, not wanting to tell her that Harry was conflicted about reprising their relationship. He didn't want to say it aloud, make it more real.

"Is he cheating on his wife, too?" she asked dryly.

"It's not that kind of commitment," he said, even if he didn't know if Harry was married, or had a significant other. Shame coursed through him, but he forced himself to continue to speak. "He's important in his society."

She sighed again. "I won't ever forget this."

"The aid that he's giving us? Or our relationship?"

He received an irritated look. "Both, I guess. But mostly the latter."

He nodded. "I understand."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm still mad at you," she admitted. "But I still love you."

"I love you," he echoed reverently, and brought her perfect face up further and pulled their mouths together for a kiss. Their lips met harshly, splitting open by the clash of their teeth, and the kiss turned heated quickly as her tongue darted out aggressively to lick his lips over. He allowed her to dominate the kiss, occasionally challenging her, knowing she needed reassuring that his love for her was indeed there and stronger than ever.

Their rhythm fluctuated between languid and vigorous, never losing in its heat and intensity. Thrill and pleasure shot through Edward's body with each movement, and he knew Bella was feeling it all too.

After a few seconds, Bella pulled away from him. Her eyes glittering in want and love and confidence, and her hair was mussed, and she had never looked more beautiful or desirable. Even so, Edward found himself missing the blush that would appear on her cheeks when she was human, and the way her lips would swell after too much activity, enticing him to continue. His mind went to the color in Harry's face and he immediately felt guilty.

"We'll continue this tonight," she promised, slipping from his grip with a happy, seductive look.

He smiled back and tried to forget Harry.

* * *

The first of the recruited witnesses were starting to arrive at the Cullen residence. Edward greeted them before bringing them inside to meet Bella and Nessie. As expected, they were all fascinated and immediately won over by his little girl, and, after a bit of convincing, agreed to stand with them against the Volturi.

Still, Edward found himself worrying. Even with all the new arrivals, plus the Quileute pack and Harry, the Volturi guard would easily outnumber them two to one. And their array of gifts was expansive and would be difficult to get through.

Not to mention – and Edward cursed his straying attention from Nessie, and her safety – their vampires guests, save the Denali clan, were all red eyes. He didn't doubt that they could control their thirst, as proven by their being in Nessie's presence, and he had warned them of Harry's presence, not divulging his abilities, and Carlisle had encouraged them to feed on animals as to not attract human attention, but he did worry that one of them might come across Harry in a bloodlust and mistake him for prey.

He sighed. The wizard could take care of himself. He was just that: a wizard, and Edward was still feeling the sting of rejection, remembering the spell used to propel him away from Harry's fleeing broom.

He sighed again, eyes lingering on Nessie as she communicated via her gift with Jacob, who became slightly vacant-eyed as he concentrated on the mental projection. Bella was watching them nearby, a smile on her face. They would be fine if he stepped out a moment.

Edward slipped from the house and headed for the forest. He knew he wasn't a good tracker, but he did his best, drawing Harry's scent from his memories and doing his best to find it somewhere in the air. He was having trouble doing so, and ran along the path that Harry had taken the other day, as he had flown away on his broom, in hopes that he might be lingering in the areas that he was familiar with, though Edward did remember the wizard saying that he wanted to scout the area before the Volturi arrived.

He found himself jogging around for quite a while before picking up even the faintest whiffs of Harry's scent, and immediately scrambled up the tree to inhale it properly. He could only assume Harry had passed by that particular branch on his broomstick.

He followed the scent as best as he could, flitting on branches, and ended up coming across a curious scene: Harry was back on ground level, his hand gripping his wand tensely, pointing it at one of their red eyed guests, Alistair, who was staring back at him with a look both bemused and predatory.

Edward's hackles immediately rose, and he leapt down from the tree, startling Harry, whose eyes flickered over to him for the briefest of instants before resettling on the more immediate danger.

"Is this your strange little human, Edward? He has…such a peculiar smell about him," Alistair asked, red eyes glittering in dark curiosity. His thoughts were going a mile a minute, contemplating possibilities of magic, replaying his memories of being buffeted away by an invisible force over and over again.

"Indeed," Edward replied, coming closer, ready to attack him if necessary. "Alistair, meet Harry. Harry, this is Alistair."

Neither of them moved, the vampire still eyeing the wizard as if he were a puzzle, and the wizard still eyeing the vampire as if he were a rabid animal.

"You some kind of magician?" Alistair asked, attention completely on Harry once more, cocking his head to the side in contemplation. "You haven't even got a hat or a cape. And your magic wand seems a little…flimsy. I wonder if you could still do your little trick if you didn't have it anymore."

"Alistair," Edward warned. "I do hope you weren't planning on making him your meal. You were asked to feed on animals during your time here. Not to mention he's completely off limits."

"Nothing wrong with a little bit of real food every now and then," the other vampire said, leering at Harry in a way that made him tense further, so much that Edward briefly thought that his body might snap.

"If you try anything," he threatened, his body coming into a defensive crouch, "and if Harry doesn't get to you first, I'll take you down myself."

Alistair's eyes flickered towards him, as if sizing him up, before going back to the wizard, who was still holding his wand aloft. "I wasn't going to actually do anything," he finally said, hands coming up in a mocking gesture of surrender. "I was just investigating that intriguing scent." He gave Edward a sidelong glance. "There's something…a little _familiar_ in there."

The teen did his best to not outwardly react as Alistair's thoughts offered him lewd suggestions of the two of them having had sexual relations. "Go away," he said simply, not uncoiling from his stance.

Alistair rolled his eyes before jogging off into the trees.

It was a bit of a tense moment before Harry asked, "Is he gone?"

"He's making his way out of my hearing range." Edward finally allowed himself to relax, and the wizard's arm came down, though he still kept his wand clenched in his hand. "Are you OK?" he asked, coming closer, needing to be sure now that the danger had been averted.

Harry waved him off as he leant back against a tree. "I've been through worse."

"You know he was planning on draining your body of blood, right? And even if he did stop, which wasn't likely, his venom would have been in your system, and you would have turned."

"I have field training," the wizard replied, not seeming impressed by the scenario Edward had spun up. "I know how to take poison out of bloodstreams."

He didn't know what he could say to that. Honestly, his knowledge of magic was somewhat limited, but he supposed that it was _magic_ and that most things were possible. "If you say so."

Harry fixed him with a withering look. "Did you come out here just to quiz me on my abilities?"

"No. I just came out here to check on you, make sure you hadn't been eaten by anything, alive or undead."

"I'm fine." He pulled his coat around him tighter, before pointing his wand at himself and muttering in Latin.

Edward knew it was wholly inappropriate, given the conversation he'd had not so long ago with his spouse, and given Harry's irritable mood, but Latin always managed to make his belly coil in the first sparks of arousal; he'd heard it in school of course, but whenever the old language came from Harry's mouth, they were usually followed by pleasure that lasted its own mini forever. Then the significance of his gesture dawned on him. What if Alistair had managed to land a hit on Harry?

"Did he hurt you?" he asked immediately, coming into the wizard's personal space, hands up and ready to be used as ice packs.

"No, he just surprised me. I did hurt my leg a bit, but that was because I fell out of the tree." By the time he'd finished his sentence, Edward was already on his knees, squashing down the arousal that was slinking out of his memory of the last time he'd been in this position, rolling up both of Harry's pant legs to inspect. He inhaled, taking in his fiery scent. Judging by the amount of blood circulating in the left leg, he guessed it was with that one that Harry had landed harder on, and pressed his hands on the knee and goose bumps erupted all over the surrounding flesh in response. "Edward, it's fine. I can get it. And you're getting through my Warming Charm."

"What?"

"Your hands are really cold. And this air isn't helping."

"Sorry. But it's so your knee won't swell."

"I know that, but I can take care of it. Is there a place to sit down around here?"

Edward looked around. "There's a fallen log over there," he said, and picked the wizard up, bridal style.

"What are you doing?! I've got a perfectly good broom I can ride."

His teenage mind couldn't help but to hear the innuendo, and was glad he couldn't blush. "I can get you there faster." Wonderful, there was a sort-of innuendo in there too.

If Harry had gotten the double meaning, he didn't show it, instead simply looking displeased at being carried such a short distance, covered in less than two seconds by vampire speed. Edward tested the wood's strength with a foot, making sure it hadn't rotted, before setting him down carefully.

"Thanks," Harry said, a bit tersely.

"You're welcome." The teenager settled down next to him, watching him run the tip of his wand over his injured leg and speaking more Latin, making Edward tremble minutely. After a moment, the wizard stopped and rolled his pant legs back down. "All done?"

Harry gave him a somewhat self-depreciating smile. "I'll live."

"Good," Edward answered, very seriously. "Now I'll only have to moderately hurt Alistair."

It was there again, that little withering look that suggested Harry didn't appreciate what he was saying. "Why?"

"He hurt you," he replied simply.

"I fell out of a tree, Edward."

"Because he startled you."

The wizard rolled his eyes. "If anyone's going to hurt Alistair, it's going to be me. You know I don't need your protection."

"Yes, I know. But I want to protect you. I am compelled to protect the ones I love."

Those green eyes darted away from his face, all disapproval mixed with guilt mixed with pining mixed with regret. "Edward…"

"Don't," he interrupted. "Please. I know what you're going to say, but that doesn't stop—"

"And I know what you're going to say," the wizard said, sounding weary. "I know you love me. And…" he sighed in frustration, looking at his shoes, "I care about you too. But there are other people involved. And one of those people is your daughter. I'm not doing this anymore. I can't do this anymore."

"We don't have to do anything," he promised, even as his instincts screamed at him in protest. "It's enough to be in your presence."

Harry rolled his eyes and huffed a laugh. "You're such a sap."

Edward regarded him for a moment, taking in the sharp curves of his handsome face. "It happens when you're in love."

The wizard smiled a teeny smile. "Yeah, I guess." The joy faded, and he lifted his head to stare out into the trees, his heartbeat stuttering. "Why'd you leave me?" he asked after a few moments, voice calm, though his heart thumped a tattoo against his chest.

"My memory was tampered with, magically."

Harry frowned, and looked at him sharply. "What do you mean?"

Edward sighed. "Ginny froze my body and tampered with my memory."

"_Ginny_? Ginny Weasley?"

"Yes. I don't know any other Ginnys," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"_Ginny_?!" he repeated, flabbergasted, not seeming to register his attempt at humor. "Are you…" is eyes darted away before resettling on Edward guiltily, "are you sure?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure." He did his best to not say it condescendingly. It wasn't Harry's fault that he was blinded by his affection for that woman. And who knew if she hadn't magically tampered with his mind as well? The thought put him on edge but he forced his voice to stay even. "Vampire memories don't fade like human ones do. I remember everything about it. I could tell you that her wand is black and fourteen inches long and that she's got thirty three freckles on her face."

Harry looked away, eyes marginally widened. "Well, I've never counted her freckles," he said quietly. "But I do know that her wand looks that way." He stared at the ground, his heartbeat thudding loudly in Edward's ears. "And when you …woke up, you didn't suspect anything?"

"I did," he admitted, "but my theories had never included loving a wizard and being part of a completely different world. The first thing I discovered when I regained consciousness, for lack of a better term, was that I was in the forests of Canada, which was strange, since I'd been hunting down criminals in various cities. I was so confused. I couldn't find out why seven months of memories was missing from my head. The only thing I found was a sock, about a foot from where I'd woken up."

"A Portkey, then."

"It had a floral scent to it: cloyingly sweet overtones hiding a sharper, more acidulous smell. I didn't recognize it then. But I recognize it now."

The wizard continued contemplating the ground. "I dated Ginny," he muttered, crossing his arms.

"I know. It…doesn't bother me," he lied.

Harry looked at him, frowning. "Not even a little?" he asked. "I'd be. At least a bit."

"You had no way of knowing."

"Well," he muttered, looking more upset by the minute, "she did seem a bit more awkward around me. I just thought she'd expected us to pick up from where we'd left off as teenagers…" He nudged some dirt around with his toe.

"And did you?" the vampire couldn't help but ask.

"Kind of. Not really. I wasn't really into it. My head…and my heart…weren't in it. And just when it started working, I realized it just wasn't going to." He sighed and Edward felt bad for being relieved. If Ginny had used magical means to influence Harry, it hadn't been strong enough, or held long enough. "I remember thinking about marrying her and having kids with her," he muttered, more to his hands than to the other man, sounding irritated with himself. "I thought about it a lot."

"Did you, eventually? With someone?" he ventured.

"I've been a bit caught up with work."

He remembered that Harry had been an Auror, which he'd explained as being a magical police officer. "Are you Head of the department yet?"

The wizard gave a brief wan smile. "They've offered a few times. But it's more for my name than my actual merits. Plus I'm not sure it's a position I want."

"Why not?"

"I'd be more of a figurehead than an Auror. I mean, not that I'm not kind of one already, but at least now I'm on the streets, doing something concrete. As Head, it'd mostly be overseeing operations. And my success rate would reflect the image of the department. Not to mention the Minister would probably have me in his office once a week just to try and get me to politically push his agenda. It's not my sort of thing; there's just too much involved. The only good thing would be I'd have a secretary to do most of my paperwork."

Edward nodded. He remembered seeing and experiencing the man's energy and drive, and knew that that sort of power and passion could not be confined behind a desk. Even now, he could see how the wizard fidgeted and longed to be in action in some way.

"What about you?" Harry asked, looking up at him diffidently.

"I've been in school."

"School? You mean, like university?"

"No." He smiled, a little embarrassedly. "High school."

Harry looked bemused before turning away thoughtfully. "I'd like to repeat my years at Hogwarts, I suppose, just to see what it's like to be a normal kid. But without Voldemort breathing down my neck, I think it'd be a bit boring."

"I've been in school since about the 1960's."

"What?!"

He explained why they went to school, how it allowed them to stay in one place for a decent amount of time, and Harry was starting to look as if he didn't know if he wanted to laugh or to be horrified. "And how many times have you gone through high school?"

"Too many," he replied with an exaggerated grimace, and the wizard laughed. He grinned along. "But I've got mostly straight As."

"What do you mean mostly? You must have memorized the curriculum by now."

"Well, yes, but we can't have the humans getting too suspicious."

"And what do you do when you graduate?"

"I've gone to university a few times. I even have a few medical degrees."

A teasing smile pulled at Harry's mouth. "You should have told me I was supposed to call you Doctor Edward."

"Well, technically, I'm not a doctor in this lifetime." _But I can play one with you if you like_, his teenage mind wanted to add.

"What are you going to do this time around?" He glanced away, and his budding happiness faded. "Raise your daughter, I guess?"

"Yes. I think I can miss out on a few years of schooling this year."

The wizard grinned briefly, before fading away to be replaced by a somewhat embarrassed look. "I still haven't met her," he muttered.

"Let's go, then. Right now. No time like the present."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, alright then."

* * *

It was very quiet when they entered the house. Edward could hear the thoughts of and smell most of their guests within the building, as well as Jacob and Nessie. The vampires had all been aware of the human coming near the house by way of their supernatural senses and seemed to be mentally speculating. He was pleased to note that none of their thoughts, save Bella and Alistair's, had any traces of guesswork of magic.

"There are seventeen others here," he told Harry as he opened the door. "Just so you know."

"Wonderful," came the bland response, and Edward had to fight to not automatically reassure him of his safety and the protection he would instinctively give.

They entered the sitting room, and all eyes were already on them.

"Hello all," Harry said immediately, with a confidence that Edward doubted he actually felt; he thought the wizard might be feeling more like a piece of meat walking into a kennel full of hungry dogs."My name is Harry."

Edward could see most of them attempting to discreetly scent the air, and stayed slightly in front of the wizard as an instinctive shield as he went around and made introductions, starting with their guests first before introducing his family.

"And you know Bella," he said as they came to stand in front of his wife. Wizard and newborn stared at each other, Harry offering her a brief and very half-hearted smile, and Bella mimicking him dryly.

Edward steered them away quickly. "This is Jacob, Alpha of the Quileute shape-shifter pack." The shifter stepped forward, hand outstretched, broadcasting loud, distrustful thoughts at the wizard who was easily a head shorter than him. Edward could tell right away that Bella had told him exactly who Harry was, thought not what, thank goodness. He knew that Jacob still cared for Bella deeply, though in a platonic way now, and hated that she was getting hurt.

"Hi," the shifter said, shortly, and proceeded to attempt to crush the bones in the wizard's hand. Edward was beginning to glare at him when Jacob suddenly yelped and jerked his hand away.

(_He shocked me! He just shocked me! How the hell did he do that?!_)

"Quite a grip you have there," Harry remarked, pseudo-casually, eyeing Jacob up and down. In return, the shifter rubbed at his hand and stared at the shorter man incredulously. "But I really do need this hand."

Edwards stifled the urge to laugh, and turned his attention to his beautiful daughter instead, standing at Jacob's side, looking up at Harry curiously, thoughts centering around Jacob and wondering what the stranger had just done to him.

"And this, of course, is Nessie," he said, unable to stop the pride from coloring his voice.

"Hi," Harry said, doing his best to put on a smile. He leaned down to her height and held out his hand to shake, and Edward didn't get the chance to warn him before she reached out and touched his face instead.

The wizard froze, eyes going vacant as he processed the invading thoughts, mouth going slightly agape. After a second, he stumbled back, shaking his head as if he were a dog trying to rid itself of water. All eyes were on him, Jacob's in particular burning into the side of his head, mentally screaming how he'd rip him limb from limb if he dared try anything against his beloved Nessie.

"That was…weird," Harry finally uttered, hands coming up to rub at his temples, face twisted in a grimace of pain.

"Are you OK?" Edward asked. No one else had reacted like this to sharing Nessie's thoughts.

"She kinda ripped through my shields," the wizard admitted, and Edward sent his daughter a brief reprimanding look, making a mental note to talk to her later about asking permission to share before doing so.

Nessie raised her hand as if to share again, before thinking better of it. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I can go through my mom's shield and it doesn't hurt her."

Harry seemed a little bedazzled by her melodious voice, and it also seemed to make him forget about his headache. "It's OK. You didn't know." He gave her a smile. "We can try that again later, if you want."

Nessie smiled back, nodding. Entranced, Harry nodded back.

* * *

Harry stared out across the field, feeling nervous and a bit grim. He thought he'd never have to see a battlefield again, let alone one where he had clear disadvantages. Even now his head was buzzing under the effects of a sight enhancing spell to look across at the enemy, standing several hundred feet away. The Volturi were quiet for the moment, but he dreaded the moment at which they would come and attack.

The Volturi boasted quite a variety of misfits. They all looked…well, like vampires, but two in particular caught his eye, a boy and a girl. They both looked similar and very young, maybe having been turned in their early teens, and were incredibly beautiful, like most vampires, and were standing closely to the three leaders. Harry found himself wondering at which point a vampire could no longer be considered an immortal child, and what their gifts were. He could only surmise that it was something unpleasant, given the readily sadistic look on the girl's face that reminded of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Harry continued observing them, and locked eyes with the boy. He looked intrigued, scenting the air, but Harry had cast a spell to mask the odor of his blood. He wouldn't want all these bloodsuckers chasing after him after all. The vampire frowned and continued staring at him. Harry stared right back, throwing him a cheeky wink, to which the vampire seemed shocked. Harry smiled at him, until he noticed Edward marching forward. What in the world was he doing?!

Edward thrust out his hand arrogantly and Aro took it. The contact lasted a second, and Aro's milky eyes darted over to look at Bella, then at Renesmee, then at Harry. The wizard stared back challengingly. His stomach twisted into knots. He was certain that the head of the Volturi had just discovered exactly what he could do and what several hundred thousands of others could as well.

Those red eyes fixed on him with an interested smile, and murmured something to Edward, who replied back, though they were too far away for Harry to hear anything. Aro turned his head away slightly with pursed lips, though he still looked thoughtful.

* * *

Harry was…irritated.

In the end, there had been no fight. He had had to put up with that insufferable woman's whiny fits for a quick blowjob. Harry sighed. Well, this trip hadn't been a complete waste; he'd been able to get some closure and explanations concerning Edward and their relationship. Still, he refused to stick around. Despite his love for Edward, his hate for his wife was stronger.

"I'm leaving," Harry said, stepping into the house. He was the last outsider there; all the others had left almost straight after the "confrontation", but he couldn't bring himself to; Edward deserved a goodbye, at the very least.

Edward stopped his conversation with Bella immediately, looking crestfallen. He strode forward to embrace the wizard. "Do you have to? You know you can stay here—"

Harry caught sight of Bella's scandalized expression and laughed. "No," he said. "Your wife won't like that. And I won't either. Plus I've got to warn my world about the impending threat of super-powered vampires," he added resignedly.

Edward looked contrite. "I'd like to say the Occlumency worked, but to be honest, I'm just not sure. I locked those thoughts and memories away in a box, and Aro probably received the box, but I don't know if he'd know how to open it. But he'll undoubtedly be intrigued by it, I'm sorry."

Harry nodded, feeling somewhat relieved, but still on edge. He was in the same room as the jealous woman that had tried to attack him – though he didn't quite blame her – and they weren't completely sure if they'd successfully hid the existence of his world from the Volturi or if they'd simply bought them some time. "Thanks for trying. But I'm still leaving." He sighed and opened his Occlumency shields a tiny amount.

Edward's eyes were soft. He embraced him again. "I love you."

"I love you too," Harry said. "Now…how about a quick tumble before I go? I don't know when we might see each other again."

Edward chuckled while his wife made a sharp noise of protest behind him. He turned to her. "We're going to step out a moment, Bella."

Bella didn't have a chance to respond, though the cross look on her face said everything they needed to know; Edward had taken Harry onto his back and they were off.

As soon as he set Harry down, the wizard said, "You know I was just joking, right? I said told you before we weren't going to…you know, be involved anymore."

"But you were very right; we don't know when we're going to see each other again," Edward said, kissing the wizard before he could protest. Harry acquiesced rather quickly.

(SCENE EDITED OUT)

Harry finally released Edward's lips and untangled their bodies, his broad chest heaving. He felt a loss, as he always did when he slipped out of Edward, but somehow the ache felt less severe. Their separation was nothing like their previous one; he knew where Edward was going to be, and more importantly, he knew Edward would be happy.

"I love you, Harry," the vampire said softly, cold hand coming up to cup his face. "I will forever love you."

"I love you, Edward." He paused. These next words were rather difficult to force out of his dry throat. "Be happy with Bella."

Edward's golden eyes glowed with happiness and he gave Harry one final kiss. "I think we will be."

**THE END**

* * *

**A/N**: Yay! It's over! Sorry for how this chapter looks; my internet ran out and I'm uploading this from my phone, so I didn't put in 's line breaks. And A3O's even more of a pain to format on, but I'm still hoping to put it up there without running up too much of a bill. I'll try to remember to pretty it up when I can use internet on my computer again. **EDIT:** all fixed now and it is up on A3O.

For Ginny's wand, HP wikia hasn't got much on it, so I took the film prop info instead. And I can't actually remember if Jacob is the proper Alpha of the entire Quileute pack…I do know that the shifters have a permanent peace with the Cullens because of Nessie and imprint law (or whatever) but I don't know if the two packs merged back together and who's actually heading them.

As always, thanks to my reviewers: sad sabrin, 5nfosi, Stoic-Genius, and my cheeky guest reviewer :). You guys made this that much more enjoyable to write and put out there.


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